“Stamping out corruption in the water sector is crucial to boosting global food production as world population growth increases pressure on water supplies, according to experts meeting at World Water Week in Stockholm.

Corruption in the water sector is already a major problem for farmers and it’s likely to get worse as competition for water increases, a joint statement released by the Water Integrity Network (WIN), Transparency Internationaland the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) Water Governance Facility at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said.

Governments, businesses and civil society must work together to improve transparency in the water sector, and introduce better checks and balances to counter corruption and nepotism, the statement said.” READ MORE

“What are the gender dimensions of climate change? As a starting point, we know that women and men do not experience climate change equally.

In many developing countries economic constraints and cultural norms that restrict women's access to employment mean that their livelihoods are particularly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors, such as subsistence agriculture or water collection.

Yet gender inequalities in the distribution of assets and opportunities mean that their choices are severely constrained in the face of climate change.” READ MORE

“FSDH Securities Limited has said that with appropriate policies to aid commercial farming in Nigeria and develop agro-allied industries, the country would be able to help Africa in achieving food security.

The investment and research firm stated this in its latest weekly report titled: "Urgent Need to increase agricultural productivity."

Nigeria accounts for about 16 per cent of the continent's population, with its arable land constituting about 75 per cent of its total land area. Currently, agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy contributes about 40 per cent to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs, directly or indirectly, more than 70 per cent of the working population."This means that Nigeria has the potentials to contribute meaningfully to the food security in Africa," the firm said.” READ MORE

“Access Info Europe is leading a new campaign to create Open Government Standards and promote them around the world. The idea is to set standards on what open, transparent, accountable and participatory government really means.

Open Government is a hot topic right now, but what does it really mean in practice? What should governments be doing in the areas of Transparency, Participation and Accountability to qualify as “open governments”? What are the uses of new communications technologies which really advance openness as opposed to merely perpetuating existing bureaucratic practices in a digital environment?” READ MORE